Checklist from federal consumer guidance
What Belongs in a Credit Report Dispute Letter
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes what a mailed dispute letter should include: your full contact details, the report confirmation number if you have one, each error and its account number, a clear explanation of why it is wrong, a request that it be removed or corrected, a copy of the report portion with the items marked, and copies rather than originals of supporting documents. Dispute with both the credit reporting company and the company that supplied the information.
What this page recommends
Get your reports free from the official federal site first, then write one letter per bureau containing the seven items below, and keep proof of delivery.
Short answer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes what a mailed dispute letter should include: your full contact details, the report confirmation number if you have one, each error and its account number, a clear explanation of why it is wrong, a request that it be removed or corrected, a copy of the report portion with the items marked, and copies rather than originals of supporting documents. Dispute with both the credit reporting company and the company that supplied the information.
Two places to dispute, not one
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau states that fixing an error generally means contacting both the credit reporting company and the company that provided the information. This is the part most often missed. Disputing only with the bureau leaves the original furnisher still holding the record it reported, and the same item can reappear.
The three nationwide credit reporting companies are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and an error may appear on one report and not on the others. That is why the guidance is to check all three rather than assuming they match.
If the error appears to be the result of identity theft, the CFPB directs people to IdentityTheft.gov, the federal government's resource for reporting and recovering from identity theft. That is a different process from an ordinary dispute and it is worth using the right one.
The seven items a mailed dispute letter should contain
This list follows the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's published guidance on what a mailed dispute letter should include.
- Your contact information, including complete name, address and telephone number.
- The credit report confirmation number, if you have one.
- Each error you want fixed, including the account number for any account being disputed.
- A clear explanation of why you are disputing the information.
- A request that the information be removed or corrected.
- A copy of the portion of your credit report containing the disputed items, with those items circled or highlighted.
- Copies, not originals, of documents that support your position.
Getting the reports before you write anything
You cannot mark up a report you do not have. The Federal Trade Commission publishes what is available free and where.
| What | What federal guidance says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Annual free reports | You have the right to free copies from each of the three major bureaus once every 12 months | AnnualCreditReport.com |
| Weekly free reports | The three bureaus have permanently extended a programme allowing a free report from each weekly | AnnualCreditReport.com |
| Additional Equifax reports | Anyone in the U.S. can get 6 free Equifax reports per year through 2026, in addition to the above | The Equifax website, or by phone |
| Why it matters | Credit report information can affect borrowing cost, insurance, renting and some hiring decisions | Federal Trade Commission consumer guidance |
Sending it so you can prove you sent it
The CFPB notes that you can choose to send a dispute letter by certified mail and ask for a return receipt, so that you have a record the letter was received. That record costs very little and is the difference between a dispute you can evidence and one you can only describe.
Disputes can also be filed online or by phone with each of the three nationwide companies. The CFPB page linked below lists the current routes for each. Contact details and web addresses change, so use the agency page rather than a number copied from anywhere else, including this one.
Sources
Everything above is drawn from these federal consumer resources:
- How do I dispute an error on my credit report? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What a mailed dispute letter should include, and the instruction to dispute with both the bureau and the furnisher.
- Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports — Federal Trade Commission. Free report entitlements, including the weekly programme and the additional Equifax reports through 2026.
- Free Credit Reports — Federal Trade Commission. Which credit reports are free and which sites charge.
- Annual Credit Report — Central Source LLC, the site directed by federal law. The site federal law directs consumers to for free reports from the three nationwide bureaus.
- Credit reports and scores — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What a credit report contains and who may see it.
These are independent sources. They are not affiliated with this publication and nothing was paid for their inclusion. Requirements change; confirm the current text at the source before relying on it.
Related resources
Affiliated document-preparation resources. Approval Prep is not a credit-repair company: it helps people write their own truthful documents and does not contact bureaus or creditors on anyone's behalf.
- create a credit dispute letter — A self-service kit for drafting your own dispute letter. Affiliated / approved target.
- what Approval Prep does and does not do — The service boundary, stated plainly. Affiliated / approved target.
Questions people ask about credit report disputes
Do I have to dispute with all three bureaus?
An error may appear on one report and not the others, so the practical answer is to check all three and dispute with each one that carries the error. Federal guidance also directs you to contact the company that supplied the information, not only the bureau.
Should I send originals of my documents?
No. The CFPB guidance is explicit that you should send copies, not originals, of documents supporting your position.
Is AnnualCreditReport.com the official site?
Yes. It is the site federal law directs consumers to for their free reports from the three nationwide credit reporting companies, and the FTC points people there.
Can anyone guarantee an item will be removed?
No, and a claim that an accurate item can be removed on request should be treated with suspicion. A dispute asks for information that is wrong to be corrected or removed; it is not a mechanism for deleting accurate history.
Editorial boundary
This page summarises published federal consumer guidance and links to it. It is educational only. It does not review anyone's credit report and cannot say what outcome a particular dispute will have.
This page is informational. It is not legal, medical, mental-health, immigration, financial, or professional advice.